Money is still flowing out of the funds run by abrdn PLC (formerly Standard Life Aberdeen) (LSE:ABDN) but at a much slower rate.
The fund management company said net outflows in the first half of the year were reduced to £5.6bn, including liquidy net outflows of £3.7bn. Excluding liquidity flows, which abrdn says are volatile, net outflows were £1.9bn, which the company noted represented a significant improvement over prior periods and is less than 10% of outflows at the low point in the second half of 2018. It also noted that the majority of the outflows it is seeing are from lower margin funds.
Assets under management and administration (AUMA) at the end of June stood at £531.8bn, down from £534.6bn at the end of 2020.
Fee-based revenue rose 7% to £755mln in the first half of the year from £706mln in the first half of 2020.
Adjusted operating profit jumped 52% to £160mln from £105mln the year before while profit before tax came in at £113mln versus a loss the year before of £498mln, reflecting significantly lower write-downs this time around.
The interim dividend has been held at 7.3p.
“Each of our three growth vectors have delivered higher revenue and profits, contributing to the highest overall rates of growth since the merger,” said Stephen Bird, the chief executive officer of abrdn.
“Low interest rates and central bank interventions have created supportive market conditions from which we have benefited. Market volatility is expected to continue due to COVID-19 and its unequal effects in different parts of the world,” Bird warned.